WO2004078012A1

WO2004078012A1 - Cooking apparatus of the barbecue type

Info

Publication number: WO2004078012A1
Application number: PCT/FR2004/000315
Authority: WO
Inventors: Raymond Garcia
Original assignee: Raymond Garcia
Priority date: 2003-02-24
Filing date: 2004-02-12
Publication date: 2004-09-16
Also published as: FR2851445A1; FR2851445B1

Abstract

The cooking apparatus (1) comprises a coal bed (3) which runs vertically and a cooking grill (4), holding the food for cooking, mounted such as to pivot on a support (5) through at least 180 degrees, whereby said grill (4) can be placed in two essentially vertical positions which permit the exposure of each of the faces thereof to the coal bed (3) and the support (5) may be displaced relative to the coal bed (3) between a close position and a position distant from said coal bed (3). According to the invention, the grill (4) comprises a handle (6), connected thereto in a pivoting manner at a point away from the axis of pivoting for said grill (4) and said handle (6) and the apparatus (1) comprise releasable locking means (24, 27) which permit the handle (6) to be locked relative to the rest of the cooking apparatus (1) in the two essentially vertical positions of the grill (4).

Description

The present invention relates to a barbecue cooking appliance.

The traditional barbecues, with hearths and horizontal cooking grates, have the disadvantage of allowing a flow of cooking grease on the embers. These fats, when ignited by overly hot embers, cause carcinogenic fumes (benzopyrene). On the contrary, if the embers are not hot enough, cooking fats tend to extinguish these embers. To overcome this drawback, it has been designed to produce a cooking appliance comprising a hearth extending vertically and a retentive cooking grid for the food to be cooked, mounted on a support. This support is movable relative to the hearth to allow the grid to be brought closer and further away from this hearth, and the grid is pivotally mounted on this support, at least 180 degrees, in order to be able to adopt two substantially vertical pivot positions in which its two sides are exposed to the fireplace. Documents FR-A-2 792 516 or EP-A-0 677 267 illustrate the proposals for such devices.

Known devices of this type have the drawback of not being very practical to use, having elements which are relatively difficult to handle, which can cause burns when they are handled while the grid or the support are hot, or which can clog. These devices also have the disadvantage of having relatively complex structures, making them relatively fragile and significantly increasing their manufacturing price.

In addition, the grids of these known devices, in parallel or crossed wires, of round or square section, have the drawback of making it possible for the embers or ashes to fall into a dish for recovering cooking juices. The present invention aims to remedy these various drawbacks.

The appliance to which it relates is of the aforementioned type, comprising a hearth extending vertically and a retentive cooking grid for the food to be cooked, pivotally mounted on a support at least 180 degrees, this grid can be placed in two substantially vertical positions allowing each of its faces to be exposed to the hearth, and the support being movable relative to the hearth between positions of approach and distance from this hearth. According to the invention,

the grid comprises a handle pivotally connected to it, at a point distant from the pivot axis of this grid, and

- This handle and the appliance comprise releasable stop means making it possible to immobilize the handle with respect to the rest of the cooking appliance in the two above-mentioned substantially vertical positions of the grid. The stop means are brought into engagement to maintain the grid in one of its cooking positions. When it is desired to bring the grid into its other cooking position, the handle is grasped to move the grid away from the hearth, then the stop means are released, then the handle is again used to rotate the grid in its second cooking position, then the stop means are again activated to immobilize the grid in this position, and the handle is finally used again to bring the grid closer to the hearth.

The handling of the grid is thus carried out in a particularly simple and rapid manner.

Preferably, the stop means are designed to also allow blocking of the grid in a substantially horizontal position.

The placing or removing of the food to be cooked is easy to carry out, without removing the grid from the cooking appliance. Advantageously, the stop means are shaped so that the release and / or engagement of these stop means is achievable by a movement of the handle relative to the rest of the cooking appliance.

The handle is thus used for releasing or engaging the stop means, so that all of the aforementioned operations caused by the inversion of the grid can be carried out with only manipulation of the handle. Preferably, the handle is connected to the grid at a lateral edge thereof, and the support comprises a handle at its lateral side opposite this lateral edge of the grid.

This handle and the handle can thus be grasped simultaneously to move the grid away from or closer to the fireplace, making handling of the grid very safe.

Preferably, the support comprises two telescopic arms, one element of each arm being connected to the hearth and the other element being connected to the grid. The movement of the support is thus perfectly guided and therefore carried out in a particularly safe manner.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the handle comprises at least one notch and the support comprises at least one lug which can be engaged in this notch to immobilize the handle relative to the rest of the cooking appliance.

According to another aspect of the invention, the device comprises a grate retention grid, formed of parallel bars of rectangular cross section, these bars being arranged on the retention grid so that their main faces are not perpendicular to the plane. of this retention grid.

The retention grid is arranged on the device so that the bars are inclined downwards, like the blades of a louver.

This retention grid is used to prevent any embers or ashes falling into a pan for collecting cooking juices, placed in front of this grid.

The invention will be clearly understood, and other characteristics and advantages thereof will appear, with reference to the appended schematic drawing, representing, by way of nonlimiting example, a preferred embodiment of the cooking appliance that it relates to. Figure 1 is a perspective view; Figures 2 to 4 are side views of different sub-assemblies that includes this device; Figure 5 is a partial perspective view of the cooking grid that includes this device; Figures 6 to 9 are side views of the device, in four successive positions of use, and Figure 10 is a partial side view of a grid which it comprises according to another embodiment.

FIG. 1 represents a cooking appliance 1 of the barbecue type, comprising a support frame 2, an ember basket 3, a cooking grill 4, a support 5 comprising this grill 4 and a handle 6. The support frame 2 comprises the basket ember 3 mounted on it and comprises, in front of this basket 3, a tray 10 for receiving cooking juices.

The embers basket 3 extends vertically and is open on one of its lateral faces, its opening being equipped with a grate 11 for retaining embers. This grid 11 is, in the example shown, formed of parallel vertical bars.

The grid 4 is formed of two sub-grids joined by means of fast-acting fasteners 12. As shown more particularly in Figure 5, these fasteners 12 are, in the example shown, of the type with pivoting threaded rods, tabs with notches and wing nuts.

One of the sub-grids comprises two coaxial pins 15 projecting from its lateral edges, and, on a lateral edge and at a distance from the corresponding pin 15, a pivot 16 on which the handle 6 is intended to be pivotally engaged. The support 5 is formed by two telescopic arms 20 extending horizontally, each consisting of two elements 21, 22, namely a fixed element 21 connected to the lateral side of the ember basket 3 and a mobile element 22. As shown in the figures 3 and 4, each movable element 22 comprises a tube 23 for receiving the pivoting of the corresponding pin 15, and the movable element 22 situated on the side of the pivot 16, therefore of the handle 6, comprises a lug 24 while the movable element 22 located on the other lateral side of the grid 4 comprises a handle 25 projecting opposite the ember basket 3. The handle 6 comprises, in addition to the hole 26 allowing its engagement on the pivot 16, two notches 27 arranged in one of its longitudinal edges and, on the side opposite to the hole 26, a handle 28. Each notch 27 allows engagement of the handle 6 on the lug 24. As can be understood with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9, the telescopic arms 20 make it possible to bring the grid 4 into the remote positions (cf. FIGS. 6 and 9) and closer (cf. Figures 7 and 8) relative to the ember basket 3. This movement is achieved by pulling or pushing simultaneously on the handle 6 and the handle 25. In a position remote from the ember basket 3, the grid 4 can be pivoted up to 'in a horizontal position (see Figure 6), in which it is maintained by engagement of the handle 6 on the lug 24 thanks to the notch 27 closest to the pivot 16. The sub-grids can then be removed one of the other for the placement of leather food e. After bringing these sub-grids together and closing the fasteners 12, the handle 6 is grasped to bring the grid 4 into a first vertical position, position in which it is held by engagement of the handle 6 on the lug 24 thanks to the notch 27 furthest from the pivot 16, then thrusts are exerted on the handle 6 and the handle 25 to bring the grid 4 closer to the ember basket 3 (cf. FIG. 7).

When the food is cooked on one side, the grid 4 is again distant from the ember basket 3 then the handle 6 is grasped to release the lug 24 from the notch 27 and this handle 6 is used to rotate the grid 4 over 180 degrees, to a second substantially vertical position, in which the other face of this grid can be exposed to embers. The grid 4 is then brought closer to the ember basket 3 for cooking the food on this other face of the grid (cf. FIG. 8).

Once this cooking has been carried out, the handle 6 and the handle 25 are again grasped to move the grid 4 away from the ember basket 3 (cf. FIG. 9), then the handle 6 is actuated so as to bring the grid 4 into its position horizontal and the fasteners 12 are released for food recovery.

FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the embers retention gille 11. In this case, the grid 11 is formed of a frame 30 and parallel bars 31 fixed to this frame 30. These bars 31 have a rectangular cross section and are arranged so that their main faces are not perpendicular to the plane of the grid 11.

This grid 11 is arranged on the device 1 so that the bars 31 are inclined downward, in the manner of the blades of a louver. The grid 11 then makes it possible to prevent any falling of embers or ashes in the dish 10.

As appears from the above, the invention provides a barbecue-type cooking appliance having the decisive advantages of being very practical to use, of having elements that are easy to handle, excluding any risk of burns or any risk of 'fouling, and having a simple structure and inexpensive to manufacture.

It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to the embodiment described above by way of example but that it extends to all the embodiments covered by the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1 - Cooking appliance (1) of the barbecue type, comprising a hearth (3) extending vertically and a cooking grid (4) retentive of the food to be cooked, pivotally mounted on a support (5) over at least 180 degrees, this grid (4) being able to be placed in two substantially vertical positions allowing each of its faces to be exposed to the hearth (3), and the support (5) being movable relative to the hearth (3) between positions of approximation and of distance from this focus (3); apparatus characterized in that: - the grid (4) comprises a handle (6) pivotally connected to it, at a point distant from the pivot axis of this grid (4), and

- This handle (6) and the appliance (1) comprise releasable stop means (24, 27) making it possible to immobilize the handle (6) relative to the rest of the cooking appliance (1) in both above-mentioned substantially vertical positions of the grid (4).

2 - Cooking appliance (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the stop means (24, 27) are designed to also allow blocking of the grid (4) in a substantially horizontal position.

3 - Cooking appliance (1) according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the stop means (24, 27) are shaped so that the release and / or engagement of these means d 'stop (24, 27) is achievable by a movement of the handle (6) relative to the rest of the cooking appliance (1).

4 - Cooking appliance (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the handle (6) is connected to the grid (4) at a side edge thereof, and in that that the support (5) comprises a handle (25) at its lateral side opposite this lateral edge of the grid (4).

5 - Cooking appliance (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the support (5) comprises two telescopic arms (20), an element (21) of each arm (20) being connected to the hearth (3) and the other element (22) being connected to the grid (4).

6 - Cooking appliance (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the handle (6) comprises at least one notch (27) and the support (5) comprises at least one lug (24) which can be engaged in this notch (27) to immobilize the handle (6) relative to the rest of the cooking appliance (1).

7 - Cooking appliance (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises a grid (11) for embers retention, formed of parallel bars (31) of rectangular cross section, these bars ( 31) being arranged on the retention grid (11) so that their main faces are not perpendicular to the plane of this retention grid (11).